Chavez: U.S. Oil Exports Could End

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez warned on Friday that he could cut off oil exports to the United States if Washington continues trying to destabilize his left-leaning government.

Chavez statements came a day after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that the Venezuelan government posed "one of the biggest problems" in the region and that its ties to Cuba were "particularly dangerous" to democracy in Latin America.

"The government of the United States should know that if they go over the line, they are not going to have Venezuelan oil," said Chavez, a self-styled "revolutionary" and close ally of Cuban leader Fidel Castro.

"I have already taken measures regarding this. I'm not going to say what because they think that I can't take these measures because we would not have any place to send the oil. They are mistaken," he added.

Speaking to government supporters at the presidential palace, Chavez said "many countries ask us for more oil and we have had to tell many countries we can't send them more" because Venezuela — the world's fifth largest oil exporter — ships 1.5 million barrels of oil a day to the United States.

Relations between Chavez and the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush hit new lows in recent days after Washington expelled a high-ranking Venezuelan diplomat in response to Chavez booting out a U.S. embassy official for alleged spying.

Chavez, a fierce Washington critic, accuses the U.S. government of repeatedly trying to discredit his government and orchestrate his ouster. American officials deny those charges but accuse him of authoritarian tendencies and threatening democracies in the region.

Chavez, who frequently refers to Bush as "Mr. Danger," said U.S. officials would fail in their attempts to turn Latin American nations against Venezuela.

"You create your front Mr. Danger, we will create ours," Chavez said. "We are going to defeat the empire."

On Thursday, Rice told the House Foreign Relations Committee that Chavez posed a threat to democracy in Latin America and criticized Venezuela's increasingly close relationship with communist-led Cuba.

"The Chavez government is attempting to influence Venezuela's neighbors away from democratic processes," Rice said, adding that the country's close ties to Cuba were "particularly dangerous" for regional stability.

Chavez said Rice's statements "constitute a threat," and formed part of an alleged effort aimed at creating chaos and political upheaval in this oil-rich yet poor South American nation ahead of presidential elections in December.

Several opposition parties have announced they will boycott the vote if the National Assembly, which is completely controlled by a coalition of pro-government parties, do not appoint an unbiased elections council that would permit a manual vote count.

Opposition leaders accused the National Electoral Council of being pro-Chavez, and have repeatedly raised concerns about voter registration and touchscreen voting machines.

Chavez, who was elected to a six-year term in 2000, has vowed to win the next election and govern Venezuela until 2013 — or longer.

Opponents accuse Chavez of becoming increasingly authoritarian, stoking class divisions and permitting political discrimination against Venezuelans who signed a petition for a presidential recall referendum that Chavez handily defeated in 2004.